Container



H. J. HAYES Aug. 1, 19394.

CONTAINER Filed Sept. 23, 1938 Ink/@7250)" E )"0/6/ Jfi a Patented Ang l, 1939 2,167,947

UNlTED STAT-ES PATENT OFFICE Harold J. Hayes, East Orange, N. .l., assignor to The Hankins Container Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 23', 1938, Serial No. 231,315

Claims. (Cl. 206-44) Thepresent invention relates to containers and punched therein. The container of the Present more particularly to containers of paper or fibre invention supplies the requirement for an eflicient board adapted for retention of small articles such and sturdy but inexpensive means for retaining as, for example, so-called' electric bookkeeping or cards in a compact, flat condition when not in use tabulating cards. I and at the same time providing means whereby 5 One object of the invention is to provide a conthe cards are made immediately accessible to the tainer of the kind described which will afford p r r of the bo kk pin ma hine:

maximum protection .for tabulating, cards or Referring more particularly to the drawing,

other small articles during transportation and the container, indicated as a whole at 5, is preferwhich, at the same time, will permit ready referably formed from a single blank of paperboard, 10 ence to the contents of the container. such as corrugated board or fibreboard, capable Another object of the invention is to so con of being readily scored and folded into container struct a container as to particularly adapt it for form. The blank 5 is suitably cut and scored to shipment'of tabulating or filing cards and which, provide a bottom panel 6, front panel 1, rear '15 after the cards havevbeen delivered to the user, panel 8, and top or cover panel 9, adjacent panels will serve effectively as a storage or filing unit to being separated from each other by score lines as afford ready access to the cards disposed in such indicated on the drawing. container. Side wall flaps, or panels, l0, l0 extend from A further object is to provide a card container the sides of the bottom panel 6. The top panel a0 adapted to retain cards in edgewise position and 9 also preferably has side flap extensions H, H '20 being formed with a protecting cover which is arranged to xte d alo g the s de Wall Panels capable of being folded, below and ec red in Ill when the container is closed and thus provide place beneath the container so as to form an side walls of double thickness. l

easel to support the container in an inclined posi- I The rear wall is also preferably formed so as to tion in which the cards are readily accessible to be of double thickness and for this purpose there the user. 7 3 V are provided extension flaps l2, l2, one at each A still further object is to accomplishthe foreend of the rear wall 8. These flaps also serve to i going results with a container of simple form prov de a Supplemental real k will later be and with a minimum amount of material. more fully explained.

f To these and other ends the present invention In'order to secure the front wall I and side resides in certain arrangements and cooperative w s 0, in v t a relation to the bottfim Panel relationships of parts all as will be pointed out 5. the id Wal s are preferably Provided at their hereinafter and particularly defined in the claims ends with flaps l3, l3, respectively, adapted to be appended hereto. folded inwardly to lie against the inner face of In the drawing, illustrating a preferred emthe front wall panel I, and retained in place by bodiment of the invention: means of a front wall flap ll arranged to be Fig. -1 is a perspective view, illustrating the folded inwardly and over the flaps l3, 13. This container in closed condition; flap I4 is preferably of such a length as to en- Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the mangage against the bottom with awedging action ner of arranging the container in an inclined, which will cause it to be firmly held in place. 40 I open condition for ready accessibility to the con- By this construction there is provided a relatents; tively rigid front wall of three thicknesses of ma- Fig. 3 is a view of the container blank; and terial, affording. ample protection to the contents Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, illusat this point. i

'; trating the manner of retaining 'or locking the The container is preferably provided with container in open, inclined position. means whereby it may readily be withdrawn from According to the present invention, as disa stack of similar containers. For this purpose closed herein, there is provided a container the container is provided with a pull tab l5, adapted for safe shipment and storage of articles p e y formed y die-Cutting a -D b such as tabulating cards adapted for use with from the material ,ofthe front wall so that them electric bookkeeping machines wherein the cards, tab is hinged on the same line as that which after belngpunched with properly arranged openjoins h front W t e b tom- A D1111 pn this mgs, may be received by such machines for the tab will ,be transmitted directly to the =bott0m purpose of tabulating the information which is panel without likelihood of the tab or any part recorded on the cards by means of the openings of the container becoming torn when so moving it. 5;

to be brought from a position over the top of the container to a position beneath the bottom thereof. The rear wall panel 8 is preferably left unsecured to the supplemental rear wall constituted by the flaps l2, l2 so that this panel may swing down from an upright position to a downwardly extending position in which it will be disposed substantially edgewise to a supporting surface. such as a counter or desk upon which the container is to be placed.

When the cover and rear wall panel are swung down and under the container, as just described, these parts will be in the form of an easel whereby they will be arranged to support the container in an inclined position in which the user, as for example, a bookkeeping machine operator, may

freely remove and reinsert groups of cards as desired.

Means are provided for retaining or locking the container in an inclined open position. For this purpose the front .of the container and the front edge of the cover are arranged so as to be engageable one with the other. In the present instance, this engagement is conveniently effected by forming a slit I6 near the front extremity of the cover 9 so that it will receive the pull tab l5, as illusbeneath the edges of flaps l3, I3. See Fig. 4.

In utilizing the container of the present invention, the blanks will be shipped flat to the point at which it is desired to pack tabulating cards. The container will then be set up by securing the front wall in place, as previously described. The

side walls will then be disposed in vertical position and the container may then be filled.

After filling the container it may be closed by folding the tabs l2, l2 inwardly and bringing 'the flaps II, II into position at right angles to the cover panel 9. The rear wall 8 is then brought into upright position and the cover panel is brought down over the contents so that the flaps II, II are tucked in at the sides of the container when the cover'panel S-is brought to final posi tion over the top of the container.

When the container is used for cards, they will be placed in edgewise position parallel to the front wall. By proportioning the container so that the distance between the side walls is somewhat greater than the length of the cards contained therein, the flaps H, H may be arranged to be frictionally held in their tucked-in. position. Due to this provision it is not necessary to provide additional securing means for the cover 9, although such additional means may be provided if desired.

The pull tab l5 will be permitted to remain in its original position within the plane of the front wall 1 during ordinary handling of the container.

When the filled container has been received by the user and it is desired to set it up in its inclined position it is only necessary to swing the cover panel 9 upward and backward, at the same time lifting the rear end of the box and bringing the rear wall 8 down to an edgewise position with respect to the supporting surface. The flaps II, II may then be brought in between the bottom panel and the cover panel 9 in which position the weight of the contents will usually suflice to hold these flaps in closely folded position.

Engagement between the pull tab I5 and the front portion of the cover is effected by swinging this tab down and first sliding the front of the box slightly rearward so that the front edge of the pull tab will be in a position to enter the slot i6. When the front of the pull tab has been caused to .enter the slot the container is then pulled forward until the pull tab has entered the slot as far as it will .go. The tab may then be folded over the front edge of the cover, then downward until the front edge of the tab snaps into place below the edges of flaps I3, [3. The container will thus be securely held in an inclined position until it is desired to reclose same. whereupon inward pressure against the flaps I3, l3 will allow the front edge of the pull tab to be released after which the tab can be straightened out and removed through the slit Hi. The cover can then be replaced upon the container in a manner substantially as above described.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the present invention provides a container for tabulating cards, and like articles, which is so constructed as to afford adequate protection for edges of cards when same are to be transported from one place to another, and, after the cartons reach. their destination, the container may be quickly converted into the form of a filing drawer in which the pull tab l5 serves the purpose of a handle for withdrawing a filled container from a stack of similar containers. The container 'may then be converted without any alteration except folding into an inclined tray in which position cards may be removed or replaced with maximum efliciency. Due to the inclination of the cards toward the front of the container, there will be no appreciable tendency for the cards to slip out of the rear of the container since the flaps I2, I! will substantially close the rear end. It is unnecessary to secure the flaps l2, I! in ordinary usage of the container for cards for the reason that there will be no weight of cards imposed upon these flaps when the container is open by reason of the fact that the tendency will be for the cards to move toward the front wall rather than to the rear.

While the present description sets forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, numerous changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim: I

1. A container comprising a bottom panel having front, rear, and two side walls hinged thereto, a cover for the container hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall, means for retaining the front wall in upright position relative to the bottom panel, a pull-tab on the container adapted to extend beyond its front wall, the cover and rear wall being foldable to a position beneath the container so as to form a supporting easel to support the rear end of the container in an til aroma:

elevated position with the front of the cover disposed beneath and adjacent the front ofthe container,-the cover being provided with means engageable with the pull-tab whereby the container may be retained in an open, inclined position.

2. A container comprising a bottom panel having front, rear, and two side walls hinged there-- to, a cover for the container hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall, means for retaining the front wall in upright position relative to the bottom panel, a pull-tab on the container adapted to extend beyond its front Wall, the cover and rear wall being foldable beneath the container so as to form a supporting easel to support the rear end of the container in an elevated position with the front of the cover disposed beneath and adjacent the front of the container, the cover being formed with a slit adjacent its front edge arranged to receive the pull-tab whereby the container may be retained in an open, inclined position.

3. A container comprising a bottom panel having front, rear and two side walls hinged thereto, a cover for the container hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall, said front wall being formed with a cut. providing a pull-tab hinged along the line of juncture of the front wall with the bottom panel, an inturned flap on at least one of the front ends of the side walls adapted to be folded inwardly to lie against the inner face of the front wall. and extending therealong a suflicient dis tance to overlap the pull-tab opening, the lower edge of such flap lying adjacent the upper surface of the bottom panel, the cover and. rear wall being foldable beneath the container so as to form a supporting easel tosupport the rear end of the container in an elevated position with the front of the cover disposed beneath and adjacent the front of the container, the cover being formed with a slit adjacent its front edge adapted to receive the pull-tab, said pull-tab being of sufficient length with respect to the distance of the slit from the edges of the cover so that the extremity of the pull-tabmay be folded over the edge of the cover and inserted beneath the inturned flap on the front end of the side wall overlapping the pull-tab opening.

4. A container comprising a bottom panel having front, rear and two side walls hinged thereto, a cover for the container hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall, said front wall being formed with a cut providing a pull-tab hinged along the line of juncture of the front wall with the bottom panel, the cover and rear wall being foldable beneath the container so as to form a supporting easel to support the rear end of the container in an elevated position with the front portion of the cover disposed beneath and adjacent the front of the container, the cover being formed with a slit adjacent its front edge adapted to receive the pull-tab, said pull-tab being of suficient length with respect to the distance of the slit from the edge of the cover so that the extremity of the pull tab may be folded around the edge of the cover with its extremity in proximity to the front wall of the container, and means associated with the front wall of the container for retaining the extremity of the pull-tab in folded-over condition;

5. A container comprising a bottom panel having front, rear and two side walls hinged thereto, a cover for the container hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall, said front wall being formed with a cut providing a pull-tab hinged along the line of juncture of the front wall with the bottom panel, lnturned flaps on the 'front ends of the side walls adapted to be folded inwardly to lie against the inner face of the front wall and extending toward each other a sufficient distance to overlap the pull-tab opening, the lower edges of such flaps lying adjacent the upper surface of the bottom panel, a flap extension on the front wall adapted to be folded inwardly against the side wall flaps, means for yieldably retaining the front wall flap in position against the adjacent side wall flaps, the cover and rear wall being foldable beneath the container so as to form a supporting easel to support the rear end of the container in an elevated position with the front of the cover disposed beneath and adjacent the front of the container, the cover being formed with a slit adjacent its front edge adapted to receive the pull-tab, said pull-tab being of sufficient length with respect to the distance of the slit from. the edge of the cover so that the extremity of the pull-tab may be folded over the edge of the cover and snapped into place beneath the edges of the inturned side wall flaps overlapping the pull-tab opening,

till 

